Oswaldo Paya releases statement about Cuban government harrassment

The coordinator of the Movimiento Cristiano Liberación (Christian Liberation Movement), Oswaldo Paya, denounced the detention of several members of the organization by state security agents.

In a statement, Paya said the detention occurred last weekend during a visit he made to various provinces. “A number of leaders of the movement were detained, including Agustin Cervantes and Jose Alba Castro. In addition, his family and his father-in-law, who is gravely ill with cancer, received harassing phone calls,” Paya said.

These incidents “reveal that the Cuban government is very concerned about Oswaldo Paya’s connections with activists and citizens due to the growing sympathy for the Varela Project and for National Dialogue.”

Does anybody know how much support (money) that O. Paya receives from the US interest section in Havana?????
If Obama so-called reached out to Cuba why didn’t he cancel these welfare checks to Cubans like O. Paya, and cancel the Voice of America propaganda
radio broadcasts?????
Personally I don’t like to see tax dollars being spent on foolish projects?????

The Cuban government crushes even the tiniest dissent, and gives dissidents no chance to have an open forum, let alone media access to the outside world.

Even if USAID gives dissidents money, it’s understandable because otherwise they would have zero support. If the Cuban govt wasn’t so oppressive, and gave these folks at least a chance to speak, then they wouldn’t need USAID support.

Just wait until American can travel there, it’s going to be a security nightmare for the military mafia.

Funny how Castro will spend the money and give people the resources to make propaganda against the USA, but doesn’t tolerate any critique towards itself.

Liberals defending authoritarianism LOL. Civil disobedience is practice by many people on the left in the USA, Canada, Europe and elsewhere, but HEAVEN FORBID that people protest the Holy Cuban Empire inside the island.

How do you feel that Fidel Castro won the war against Batista, he received a lot of support and lot of money from everywhere inside and outside of Cuba.

Subsequently he commenced and still is today providing support, military advisors, troops and lot of funding to every single movement against the US interest around the world. How do you feel won the “Sandinistas” in Nicaragua? It s famously known in Cuba that the battle for Managua was directly supervised by Castro from Havana.

Why do you feel that Daniel Ortega went from the Summit of the Americas directly to Havana, just to update his old master about all aspects of the Summit and to re-confirm him that as a good puppet he yelled a lot in Castro’s name.

What about the FARC, the IRA, the leftists guerrillas in el Salvador, Guatemala, even in the US, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Congo, Angola, Namibia etc, etc, etc ....... Even Castro has confirmed that they have supported every single movement in America except than in Mexico.

The Cuban dissidents are peaceful democratic fighters and as such everybody should respect them. You may or may not agree with them, as you may or may not agree with Obama but still you should respect the fact that they are fighting against all odds inside one the most oppressive countries on the hemisphere, a government that for almost 50 years has openly prosecuted the freedom of speech and every single imaginable human right.

Still those valorous Cubans are holding strong on their motherland, they have received offers to emigrate to many places but they want to stay on their own country fighting for what they believe not only against the regime but also against a bunch of obtuse people, around the world, influenced and brainwashed by the Cuban Government propaganda machine, people that do not understand the Cuban internal issues and that has never suffered oppression on their own skin.

Madrid, Spain, May 12, 2009 / 08:09 pm (CNA).- Representatives of the Christian Liberation Movement in Spain have denounced the harassment that its members are suffering in Cuba due to the growing acceptance of the Varela Project by Cubans.

In a statement, the movement pointed to the recent harassment of its coordinator, Oswaldo Paya, during his visit to Cienfuegos and the Eastern region of Cuba, as well as the arrest of other members such as Agustin Cervantes and Jose Alba Castro. They also mentioned and the harassment of “the home of the father of Paya’s wife, Ofelia Acevedo. Her father is in the terminal stages of cancer.”

The movement also denounced the arrest of Minervo Chil Siret, who was fingerprinted, photographed and accused of collaborating with foreign governments against the Cuban state.

Upon his release, state security agents warned him not to get involved with the Varela Project again and that if he did he would be formally charged with violating the law.

“This situation is very serious and dangerous,” the movement stated, “and we want to alert the international community, government officials and human rights organizations and institutions of this new slight-of-hand by Cuban officials who seek to close the door to peaceful change with the power they hold.”

The only way to counter these sorts of actions is through the citizenry.

What we need is an equivalent “Citizens Response Brigade” to act against local police, MININT, etc. If these individuals want to beat, arrest and intimidate innocent civilians, those civilians are going to have to take the law into their own hands.

MININT officials and police officials who take part in these sorts of actions need to be held accountable. If an innocent man or woman is taken into custody, so to must the police officer who took him/her into custody, be taken to a safehouse, or a member of that officials family must be taken.

Peaceful measures - as we always have seen - do not work in Cuba. The threat of violence to those involved in repressive measures most be real, swift and perhaps somewhat measured.

The names, addresses and photographs of all MININT and local security officials (including Rapid Response Brigade members) must be published, disseminated and made public, for all to see - and react.

Enough is enough. It is time to act. Long past time, in fact.

Would you like to add more information?

Only members can add more information. Please register or log in
Member comment box